>>>>warning: don't try with American so-called "bread". No warranty applied/implied/replied/replayed, actually I invoke a Microsoft-strength disclaimer in that case.
>>>
>>>Take it in turns tro cycle round the block with the bread.
>>>
>>>Try these some time.
>>>
>>>http://thefoody.com/vegetable/potatocakes.html
>>>
>>>served dripping with melted butter of course.
>>>
>>>Best eaten hot off the stove as they are cooked.
>>
>>We do this often - though without the British passion for triangular food :). And nothing particularly Irish about that, or at least none that my grandmother knew about when she made them. We either call them puree patties (no I will not try to write the Serbian name until we get UTF-8 back; for the same reason I won't even try e-acute either) or invent a Mexican-like name (equally unprintable here).
>>
>>Sometimes we just make more mashed potatos than needed, so if they aren't eaten by dinner, they become "[unprintable]" - the "carne de yesterday" which then gets a new life this way. And, ahem, replicate("mmmm....", 20).
>
>My grandmothers (both the german one and the norwegian one) used left-over mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, and baked potatoes in all kinds of pot-pies and pancake-style dishes. Now our favorite use for left-over mashed potatoes is to add chopped onions, salt, and pepper and fry them up like hash browns in a ton of oil and butter. (You have to dry them out a little by sticking them in the freezer for 30 minute before frying) The messier the better :o) My daughter eats them plain, her boyfriend adds ketchup, and I top with maple syrup.

For ceremonial meals I usually try to add one thing to the menu which I haven't made before, even if it's something very simple. Last Christmas dinner I made twice baked potatoes for the first time, in homage to an ex sister-in-law who made them every year when the Christmas Eve gatherings were there. The potatoes weren't left over, of course, just baked twice. (Duh). It's a hard recipe to screw up and they came out fine. Emily, who is the budding "real cook" in the family (as opposed to competent recipe followers like me), said you forgot the ground up onions. Which was in fact true -- I knew they didn't taste exactly like Joanie's but didn't know why. "But they're good, Dad," she added ;-)